9. Facing A Monster

9. Facing A Monster

Matteo paid the voices no mind he had already expected this, despite the beasts in the area being at the lowest level it did not guarantee that they could take it on.

There was a difference between playing a game and being in one. When playing you could see the enemy approaching on screen and plan but being the player itself meant something entirely different.

You would be the one facing the monster, you would be the one expending stamina in a fight, you would be the one learning your combos. It was possible to even trip in battle over a rock unlike when playing a game. There was no such thing as a beginner starter pack here, Matteo had to accept all these conditions if he was to operate at optimum condition.

He soon reached where he was aiming at, it was around a cluster of trees, it was a small small clearing of huge grass that reached his waist. When playing the game in the beta version there were some spots where he could find single beasts in the wild.

Matteo needed to use this moment to practice how to use his sword. He would have to become able to time attacks like when he was playing a game, he would have to know how to aim for weak points, he would have to adjust his grip not to let go of his weapon in battle.

This was why he predicted that up to half of them would die. In the modern era no one did anything like hunting beasts or firing off arrows. They would at first be out of sorts even the veterans, but humans were the most adaptable creatures.

Matteo believed that with a little practice he would get the hand of it, and with a lot of practice he would get much better.

He looked out across the grass to see a boar with brown fur and white tusks, it looked like a normal boar and it was also an herbivore. To gamers even normal animals no matter how bizarre they were, they were all categorised as beasts. It made hunting them easier.

The information displayed before him.

[Wild boar]

[Class: Beast]

[Rank: F (Basic)]

[Info: A normal boar of the outer forest region]

A basic class beast was the same as a normal animal like in the real world. Matteo looked at his weapon.

[Iron Sword]

[Class: Weapon]

[Rank: F (Basic)]

[Stats: Attack- +5, Dexterity - 50]

[Info: A sword crafted from basic steel]

He had given it a few practice swings to test his basic swordsmanship. When he thought about it and put his heart into it, he could move his body in line with what a swordman would but it was hard trying something like that for the first time.

That was why he needed a beast to fight, and even the lowest class would challenging for a normal human like him. He tried to imitate the moves he used in the game but it was different without a target, he needed something to add intent to his swings.

Matteo theorised that if he could get into one battle and make it out alive or winning, he could use it as motivation to get a grasp of his class.

He moved the way he would when playing the game or any other game, the thick long grass was long enough to hide him. He starts to go around the wild boar while trying to get closer from it's blind spot, he was always good at stalking his prey in games.

As he got closer the grass he pushed past would get in his eyes or make noise, at first it made no difference but as he got closer it would become more and more pronounced. The wild boar would raise its head and look around. Matteo would stop and do nothing, it would not take long for the beast to go back to its idle grazing.

Matteo did not know but his hands were shaking at the thought of even nearing the beast. His knowledge of games were so vivid that he could recall what beasts would do to his avatars when playing a game. He gulped down thinking what would happen if the beast found him out.

He could remember when he stubbed his toe on his table and somehow he knew the pain he would face if he slipped would be much worse.

The tail of the beast whipped around gently, Matteo was now a few feet away. He knew what he had to do, charge out and attack the beast.

He thought if his attack speed was quicker than it's reaction speed even by a second. If he was in front of him computer he would have attacked without any fear but if the beast was to strike a blow, he had no armour and that would hurt.

Somehow that was what dominated the gamers, the fear of pain. For those who were body builders they could manage it to some extent but for the ones who only played games and nothing else, it was torture to think of it.

Matteo bit his lower lips hard till they bled, it was a bad habit of his. He had no time to dwell on such idle thoughts.

He charged out and gripped his sword with both hands and did a side slash for the backside of the beast. The wild boar snorted in an alarmed tone but he had already slashed it.

Drops of red painted the air as Matteo felt his blade cut through flesh and come out the other end. At the last moment his body fumbled and his grip loosened almost letting go of the sword. There was a light cut on the backside of beast.

It reared it's head and saw it's attacked.

Matteo stood there his body trembling physically, he could see himself performing the combos to kill the beast but his body did not even budge. It was like he was in the driver's seat and his car was out of gas.

"Move, counter, dodge, evade." He screamed his thoughts, the same thoughts he would have when playing in frustration. Since when had he been frustrated.

Matteo raised his hand and looked at it vibrating violently, he looked at the wild boar and gritted his teeth. "Shit, what is wrong with me."

The beast raised its hind legs and struck Matteo in the chest, he lost his balance and his sword. As his back touched the ground he knew for certain that he was dead.